This gallery shows some of the dozens of shark species that can be found in the Gulf of Mexico. Here is the Atlantic sharpnose shark.

This gallery shows some of the dozens of shark species that can be found in the Gulf of Mexico. Here is the Atlantic sharpnose shark.

Photo: Seapics.com

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US Actress Maggie Q swims with an endangered whale shark off Cancun, Mexico.

US Actress Maggie Q swims with an endangered whale shark off Cancun, Mexico.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

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A 263-pound bull shark caught by Jeremy Powers is displayed during the final day of the 75th annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo on Dauphin Island, Ala.

A 263-pound bull shark caught by Jeremy Powers is displayed during the final day of the 75th annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo on Dauphin Island, Ala.

Photo: Associated Press

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A nurse shark, as well as yellowtail snapper and grunts are attracted to bait anchored inside plastic crates at a dive site off Juno Beach, Fla.

A nurse shark, as well as yellowtail snapper and grunts are attracted to bait anchored inside plastic crates at a dive site off Juno Beach, Fla.

Photo: AP

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Hammerhead sharks patrol the waters off Cocos Island in the IMAX film Island of the Sharks.

Hammerhead sharks patrol the waters off Cocos Island in the IMAX film Island of the Sharks.

Photo: NOVA/WGBH

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A lemon shark glides by during a snorkeling trip off Bora-Bora.

A lemon shark glides by during a snorkeling trip off Bora-Bora.

Photo: TPN

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Sharks, apex predator of the Gulf, are dying by the millions

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Glenn Parsons, a biologist and shark expert from the University of Mississippi, will speak at the Houston Museum of Natural Science on Wednesday evening about sharks in the Gulf of Mexico, and how they’re threatened. I recently caught up with Parsons to speak about his work trying to save the embattled apex predators. Here’s an edited version of that discussion.

How many species of sharks are there in the Gulf?

In shallow in-shore waters there are about 20 species commonly encountered, but if you include all of the really deep ocean sharks 2-3 miles down, there are a great number more, as many as 150 species. It changes all the time because new species are being described. In all the world’s oceans there are 440 species of sharks.

Are populations holding steady?

Parsons

Sharks have declined. Many of them have declined by 90 percent over the past 30 or 40 years. Some of them are not, we’ve seen increases in some. But many of the larger oceanic sharks have declined in the Gulf and the Atlantic.

So how are sharks in the Gulf threatened?

In a lot of cases, commercial fishermen trying to catch tuna, will hook a shark instead. This is mostly hook and line fishing, and they don’t want to handle them. In the Gulf of Mexico they catch literally millions of sharks a year that are released. But unfortunately, I think people would be appalled, many of them, probably most of the sharks end up dying from the stress.

The stress?

There’s the trauma of the hook injury, but a large part of it is the handling of the animal. When you catch a large mouth bass and pose for a picture, and then let it go, most of the time it will be fine. But it turns out sharks are much more stress sensitive. Part of the problem is the way the fishery is conducted, they will set their baited hooks on a long line and let it soak for six hours. If the shark takes a hook early he will be on that line for several hours. Sharks freak out like crazy when you hook them, they just go crazy.

What can be done about the problem?

Fishermen would love some way to help and we’re working on three different approaches. We’re trying some things to prevent sharks from taking the hook in the first place. Or, once they’re captured you can do something to alleviate the stress to the time they’re on the hook. We’re working with ways to induce a low level sedation to the hook or the bait. We’re also looking at ways to do a quick release from the hook if a shark gets caught, maybe within 30 seconds ( such as with the entangling leader). Truthfully I feel the work I’m doing right now at this stage of my career is really the most important work I’ve done in my career.

There are relatively few shark attacks worldwide, but Texas seems to have far fewer than many other places. Why is this?

The main difference is the Gulf of Mexico tends to have a really wide shelf. Most of the really large sharks live in more of an open ocean environment, so along the Gulf coast they’re much further out there. On the Atlantic side the shelf is narrow, so you have those really large animals geographically much closer to the surfers and swimmers. You can almost catch marlin right off the beach on the east coast of Florida.